MERCHANT FOCUS: DUQUEMIN & OZANNE
A MERCHANT WITH A VIEW
BMJ chats to a merchant on the island of Guernsey about why it was so keen to join a buying group.
Y
ou’re never far from the sea in Guernsey, which is why Duquemin & Ozanne’s 40,000 sq. ft builders merchant premises offer views of the smaller Channel Islands of Herm and Jethou, and beyond that to Sark. The business was set up three years ago by partners Martyn Duquemin and Colin Ozanne, who collectively have more than 80 years’ experience in merchanting.
“We were both at another merchant for many years which was eventually purchased by a national. We just took the view that it was time to do it for ourselves really,” Duquemin says, adding that the pair’s local knowledge helped them spot a market opportunity. “We knew the industry like the backs of our hands, and we knew the island. We’re both local lads and felt that if we offered something a bit different, we’d stand a good chance of being a success.”
The company doesn’t like to think of itself as your average merchant. He explains: “There’s a design aspect to the business for both heating and bathrooms. It’s the heating design capability that gives us the edge though, because we can do the drawings and get involved with real technical issues like heat losses, pipe and radiator sizing.” A typical customer is the jobbing plumber, but the company also works with architects and the general public.
“Our end customer is predominantly domestic. We have a trade side and a retail side with a showroom downstairs that has over 30 displays and more than 20 leading European and global brands, including Villeroy & Boch, Hansgrohe and Tissino.” Duquemin & Ozanne’s Channel Island location does bring its challenges though. “We have to ship everything in, obviously, and we get deliveries on a daily basis. It’s part of being on an island but you get used to it.” He says the key to success is remaining competitive and that’s why being part of a buying group – in this case, NBG, the National Buying Group, was on his agenda from day one.
26
2025 and, at first, Duquemin says he was unsure what to expect. “There was some trepidation at the very first meeting, but if I’m honest, it didn’t take long to feel relaxed about the whole thing. It was very clear that the people there were all like-minded and they’re so friendly.”
“In my previous job, we were a member of a buying group. When Colin and I set up our own business, we knew that we wanted to be part of a group in order to stay competitive. “We had a look at a couple of options and, if I’m honest, what pushed me towards NBG was word of mouth. I spoke to a friend from Jersey, who runs a plumbers merchant over there, and he highly recommended them.” A second issue for Duquemin was culture. “I spoke to another buying group and I just warmed to the way NBG works with its partners. It’s quite hands-on from a partner point of view, I have to say. For somebody who lives on an island, that can be quite a commitment but it’s worth it.” He says he attends four meetings a year as a minimum, but feels that being an active partner is vital. “There’s obviously a cost to getting off the island, not to mention time out of the business, but I take the view that you get out what you put in.”
The democratic aspect of NBG’s culture was also important to Duquemin. “I like the way NBG involves the partners. It’s one vote each which is very democratic. It’s all about the partners, where – with other buying groups – I got the sense that it was more about them doing all the work and then members getting some of the benefits. With NBG you get all the benefits, but you have to put the work in,” he says.
Duquemin & Ozanne joined NBG in January
He adds that the feeling of community was important. “You’re not on your own; we all have the same issues and it’s quite nice to be able to share those problems and just listen to what other people have to say. How they got around some of their challenges and what they’re doing to get better.”
Inevitably being part of a buying group did mean unwinding some existing deals. Duquemin says: “If I’m honest, I think we’re still working through that. We’re asked to comply, and we make every effort to do that. There have been some suppliers that, as a business, you just can’t do without and NBG have been willing to accommodate that. There’s no way anybody is ever going to ever be 100% compliant with all the deals overnight.”
The big plus, he adds, has been the quality of the NBG agreements “I wouldn’t say I was surprised at the savings because I’ve been around merchanting for a long time, but the deals have certainly made us more competitive and that means everything to us.” Almost as importantly, being an NBG Partner has meant that Duquemin & Ozanne have been able to expand the product range. “We’re bringing in new suppliers all the time to be honest. Just this year, we’ve brought in Hyco, a water heating company, and we’ve just taken on a company called Wild Stone, who manufacture a very striking stone-like cladding. We’ve also changed some of our fitting suppliers and been a bit more adventurous by branching out into insulation with Mannok and selling quite a bit of cement. All in all, joining NBG has been a very positive move for us.” BMJ
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net June 2026
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
